The Golden Nugget Gourmet

Look no further, this Lobster Mac and Cheese Recipe from Cal Hancock, owner of Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. in Cundy's Harbor, Maine, is the one you absolutely have to make.

The first time I had Lobster Mac and Cheese was Fall 2007, when my in-laws Stuart and Joanne threw a cocktail party to celebrate our wedding with family friends who couldn't make it to Ogunquit, Maine for the ceremony. We had a lobster bake at our wedding reception so it naturally tied the events together when the caterers served this savory dish as one of the several appetizers at their party. Everyone raved about the lobster mac, a combination that seemed relatively unheard of at the time...at least we had never heard of it, but one bite and we were all hooked.

Last week while vacationing in Virginia Beach we had phenomenal dinner with our friends Chris and Trista at HK on the Bay. I had ordered a Tri Tip Chimichurri Sirloin with a side of Lobster Mac and Cheese, both were cooked to perfection. I decided…

Thursday Morning: Picked up Scott from UMD and headed to Virginia Beach for a family vacation with the Imrichs. Now all of you with small children know how easy it is to leave in the morning without having breakfast. Well, all I had was a cup of coffee, but when I had the option of stopping half way and filling up on fast food or waiting it out and getting the ultimate satisfaction of wolfing down a sandwich from the Taste Unlimited, this mommy opted for the latter and grabbed another cup of coffee. And boy was the wait worth it!


Sunday Afternoon: As the saying goes, betcha can't eat just one. After spending the morning playing with Morgan on the beach while the bigger boys took the kayak out crabbing, I was ready for another round of Taste delectables. What are in the bags? A Northender, Roastbeef with Provolone, Route 11 Chesapeake Crab and Deep River Rosemary and Olive Oil Chips, Coke, Sprite, and an Orangina. Those of you that know and love me may be wondering if all that foo…

Warning: This dish is addicting. My father-in-law Ernesto, taught me how to make it in October, and I have made it several times since. A Cuban comfort food that freezes very well. It is often accompanied by white rice, tostones or maduros.

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Fricase de Pollo Recipe Card

Who doesn't love hot and bubbly spinach and artichoke dip? It has to be one of the most popular appetizers ordered at restaurants. Well, you no longer have to go out, you can make it at home.
My recipe is slightly adapted from this highly rated dip on Allrecipes. Grab your favorite tortilla chips and dig in!

Having beautiful and unique bakeware that can go straight from your oven to table is great not only for presentation but also for an easy cleanup. While on vacation in the Florida Keys, my parents picked up a few pieces of Tom Chamberlain pottery for us as wedding presents. I have loved using the brie baking dish for my crab dip, but I was just on the site recently and discovered I need to pick up one of these!

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Spinach Artichoke Recipe Card

Have you dreamed of getting your haircut at a celebrity salon but assumed you couldn't afford it? Well, now you can, and starting October 1, 2012 we will be giving away three haircuts from Shag, Boston's hottest hair salon. The final giveaway is for no other than the man himself, celebrity stylist Sandy Poirier. Read on for details regarding this absolutely fabulous opportunity.

After spending a week in the woods last October at Project Adventure, in Beverly MA, I was ready for a daring new haircut that emulated the exuberance of energy I was feeling after such a life changing week. I was going to be in Boston area for another week, so I hit up Yelp trying to find Boston's best to cut and color my hair. Of course there were many reviews for stylists on Newbury St. but no one stood out until I started reading reviews and articles on celebrity stylist and professional photographer Sandy Poirier, owner of Shag salon in the south end of Boston. I had just spent a week at Proj…

Morgie is a water baby so finding cute, reliable, and reusable cloth swimming diapers is a must for our family. After reading several online reviews we chose Bummis Swimmis and have been absolutely happy with our purchase. I have so far gotten almost 2 years of use (summer pool seasons and winter vacations) out of these swimmis and they look and perform just as good as when I first bought them. Visit my online GNG shopping cart (page 2) and pick up a few of  these must have swimmis.

Watch for rockbottom online sales from Gymboree's Swim Shop. You will save a ton of money! During Morgie's first year, I planned ahead, purchasing offseason, and was able to snag matching rash guards, shorts, and hats for well under $5 a piece (original prices averaged $20). This year I forgot to do so, and spent a small fortune outfitting him for our March trip to Punta Cana.  I learned my lesson and will be looking for this sale over the next couple of months. Let me know if you want a heads up …

Stop what you are doing and go and get a rack of lamb, a can of Ghirardelli Cocoa and a package of your favorite light-roast coffee. This lamb recipe is to die for! You can store the cocoa and coffee in the freezer for future use, so I highly recommend splurging on the more expensive cocoa and coffee brands for this recipe.

Although this our favorite lamb recipe, I had to take a short hiatus from making it when I was three months pregnant. My high school friend Nancy flew out from Chicago for a visit, and I had made this for a "surprise we're pregnant" dinner. Unfortunately for me.....and more so for Scott (he craves this dish).... I bragged that night that I had not experienced any food aversions during my first trimester. No sooner was the lamb cooked to medium rare that I had my head hanging out the window for fresh air the entire dinner. It took a year before I could enjoy eating and cooking lamb again. Pictured left are the chops from that memorable night.

The other day I ran into Safeway to grab a box of diapers. I'm usually a Huggies mom but I couldn't help but notice that there was another brand that I was not familiar with and it was $5 cheaper than the popular name brand competitors. Introducing Mom to Mom Supreme Diapers, an economical and dependable line of diapers (and other baby products) by Safeway. We are almost through the box and we have not experienced one leak.

FYI: I started out using Smarti Pants cloth diapers with Morgie and absolutely loved them. Unfortunately we tend to travel a lot and I found myself using disposable diapers whenever we were away from home. These one sized pocket cloth diapers are cheaper than most of their competitors, have a genius adjustable snap system that allows you to use them into toddlerhood, and are made in the USA.

If you are looking for a great cloth swimming diaper, GNG highly recommends the Bummis Swimmi cloth diapers. We have used them for the past two summers and have been c…